Reflection Options  

Journal  (Reflection on one or more of these questions) 

• When was the last time you asked for help? What was the result both internally (in you) and externally? Write about one minor “ask” and one more significant “ask”.

• Define “interdependence”.  Evaluate your own experience and ability to be interdependent with family or friends.

• What is the relationship between humility and vulnerability? Was Jesus humble or vulnerable or both?​

Quote Interaction  (Agree, disagree or otherwise engage with the quote/quotes)

• A little boy was having difficulty lifting a heavy stone. His father came along just then. Noting the boy’s failure, he asked, “Are you using all your strength?” “Yes, I am,” the little boy said impatiently. “No, you are not,” the father answered. “I am right here just waiting, and you haven’t asked me to help you.”  (Anonymous)

• From what I've seen, it isn't so much the act of asking that paralyzes us--it's what lies beneath: the fear of being vulnerable, the fear of rejection, the fear of looking needy or weak. The fear of being seen as a burdensome member of the community instead of a productive one. It points, fundamentally, to our separation from one another.   (Amanda Palmer, author of The Art of Asking)

• We become strong, I feel, when we have no friends upon whom to lean, or to look to for moral guidance.(Benito Mussolini​)

Reading & Reflection from the book, Shaping The Journey of Emerging Adults:

• See the paragraph (p. 39) that starts, “Additionally, young men…”  If you are a male, did you grow up with these myths of manhood? How were they either modeled or counteracted?  How does this affect a biblical understanding of interdependence for you?

• Read the hiking stories (pp. 75-77).  How did a willingness to accept help from Rebekah impact the experience of the second hike?  Where do you need to be willing to accept help currently?

• See the statistics from Karen Fingerman (p. 111) about the help received from parents.  Do you think receiving help from parents (or the lack of it) has helped you be more open or less open to asking for help from people? How would you discern the line between needing to ask for help and learning to take responsibility for yourself?

• Read the “Be a truth teller...” point (p. 137) and/or example of Holly and Bianca (pp. 160-161).  Have you ever asked for one kind of help but received another?  Was that ultimately a good thing or a negative thing? How does it affect your willingness to ask for help?